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Building an Energy-Efficient Florida Home

This home will be about 50 percent more energy efficient than a typical Florida home. Bill Zoeller, a consulting architect with Mercedes, has changed specifications and products to make this home as efficient as possible. First, there are low-e insulated windows that will block about 70 percent of solar heat gain. The solid concrete walls are insulated with one inch of polyisocyanurate insulation board that is applied directly to the concrete walls. This insulation, which has the highest R-rating of any insulation on the market, will block the heat buildup during the day from reaching inside the home. In addition to Energy Star-rated appliances, the air conditioning ducts have been dropped to the attic floor and surrounded with insulation to reduce the efficiency challenge presented by running ducts through hot, Florida attic space. This technique was developed in California and is now part of their energy code. Dropping the ducts, wrapping them in insulating foam, and covering them in a polyurethane insulating foam improves efficiency and blocks condensation buildup in this humid climate. Lance Keeling, of BioBased Systems, explains that this foam insulation is soy-based but converted through chemical reaction to become completely inert to eliminate organic matter that could promote mold or mildew growth. This chemical is pressurized and sprayed with a hose to form a foam that sets up in moments. This foam provides a 4.8 R-value per inch but with a desired value of 6 from this part of the insulation, must be sprayed at a 1 1/2-inch thickness. This completely encloses the ducts to prevent any air loss and resulting moisture buildup. If a homeowner were to attempt covering ducts with commercial insulation, potential moisture buildup could be produced causing mold and moisture growth. The key with this technique is that it completely seals the ducts to prevent air loss and resulting moisture buildup. Zoeller and Keeling predict a savings of $100 per month in operating expenses due to the energy-efficient measures employed. Zoeller shows Bob the 14 SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) heat pump air conditioning unit installed to cool the house. It is about 40 percent higher in efficiency than a traditional air conditioning unit. While initially more expensive, a smaller unit can be installed due to the high-efiiciency of the overall home.

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Building an Energy-Efficient Florida Home

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" elevator goes -- and glass ceiling and both you guys are going to inform us a lot about how we've made this house energy efficient you're. With the architecture firm that consults to Mercedes homes that's correct and we have a little bit of bragging rights here is this house going to be a lot more energy efficient than the average."

" Home right well that's right. The way we've all done our analysis this house will be about 50%. More energy efficient than the typical house built in Florida today for the same amount of square footage. What we've been able to do. Was take all the energy uses that typically -- into -- house and attack them one at a time to come up with the best combinations specifications. To get that. Overall energy use as low as possible now tell me what are some of the those specifications. Well the first thing we did was specify -- windows. Low. Let your -- can see from the solar energy side that they block the solar energy that's not visible light. So which is what causes heat gain which is what causes you to come back. The windows. We've got here actually very they have a very low. What's called solar heat gain coefficient point three and which means it blocks about 70% of the solar energy that we want to block from getting into the house great and now all our walls are solid concrete. Do we have to add insulation to something like that. Yes you do what we've done here is we added one inch of poly so us and -- insulation boards that adhere directly to the concrete. The concrete is six inches thick is -- mass capacity outside. So they heat up slowly during the day. That -- insulation which has the highest. To stop that heat flow from getting into the house and also makes for a very airtight package what are some of the other little measures that we've taken. While some of them are simple things we've done we've used energy star appliances right -- we've got a very high seer air conditioning equipment. But we've also got something that's pretty unique here. With the air conditioning ducts themselves he typically in Florida the air conditioning ducts are simply suspended in the attic. Where they're subjected to -- 140 degrees 150 degrees of air temperature on all four sides on all four sides -- trying to blow fifty or 55 degree air through them. What we've done here is we've taken those -- dropped them on the attic floor. And then just buried in the insulation. This is a process that we actually pioneered -- in California that is not part of the California energy code. And several thousand houses have been built using this technology. We had to do one thing different here however because it's hot. Humid climate versus a dry climate in California right to prevent condensation from occurring on the -- just like a glass of iced tea in the summer -- all dripping right. To prevent that we went and put me down. Closed cell polyurethane foam around those ducts to prevent the moisture from reaching. The dew point on the box office allowing us to bury the ducts in the insulation. And coming up with very high."

" And -- this isn't just any old insulation right. That's correct I -- taking green to the extreme tell us about."

" Well it's a soy based insulation what they do want to chemical level is replace appalling only comes from petroleum. With -- else coming from soybean. So even though it starts out as an organic product once they get to the -- all level it becomes completely inorganic so there's no food value for mold or pests or anything of the sort. That's really important yes OK now what's the actual process them. Installing it in our act how do you do it. Well there's equipment that puts the chemical under pressure and under heat and there's an -- saddening piece that it comes together and it. The tip of the gun when -- together -- fall. The foam sets up within fifteen to twenty seconds seat is sprayed on the -- and it. Just completely closes the duct system now what kind of an. So to achieve the thirteen nervous and in addition to the six that bill -- force for about an inch and a half of this well."

" could I get the same results of I was a do it yourself and I just bought four by eight sheets of our eyes and sign your name and often. We'll put them on my existing duct workers out of state."

" Yeah that's -- mistake Bob what you're really going for here is an air seal so -- this -- when he sprayed on it goes on like a liquid glue type substance and completely closes when the knicks fans. You don't have anyplace for air to leak through here and humidity which can condense on your thoughts that went after the close up restaurant for he's an open cell phone. The moisture can actually migrate through the material. Get to the dew point surface and actually condense within the insulation material itself."

" Now have you guys made any projections of what the energy savings actually amount to what's it gonna cost every month to run this house."

" It's gonna cost about a hundred dollars a month. The overall savings is about 50% as I mentioned. -- projections annually that this house would cost about 2400 dollars to run are typically less costly 400 dollars to run yet this house would cost 1200 dollars so it's a hundred dollars a months it."

" That is such good news now one other feature we want to talk about his right to -- the garage door. OK so this is a whirlpool heat -- out what's the logic in terms of our choices here."

" Well this is day up pretty efficient unit this is a fourteen seer unit that's SER. Which means seasonal energy efficiency ratio. Okay that's about 40% more than the most basic unit on the market. -- means it costs more right. Because a little bit more -- cost about twelve or 1500 dollars war. We compare one to the other but some of the other things that we put into the house like the better windows very duct system allows us to put a smaller. Air conditioning system and so the smaller system actually saves money to pay for some of those other improvements so it saves money on an operating basis it saves a lot of money and offering its so it's great. Terrific thank you bill."

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